A detail of the fake $1 million bills dropped on the Michigan HouseJonathan Oosting | MLive.com

LANSING, MI -- A small contingent of activists dropped fake million dollar bills onto the floor of the Michigan House of Representatives on Wednesday, drawing confused looks, a few laughs and a quick hook from their gallery seats.

Represent.Us, a national group promoting campaign finance reform, pulled a similar stunt in the New York State Senate this June.

"We believe the current debate over campaign finance is absurd, because there's discussion about some additional disclosure or some contribution limits, when in fact what's really needed is an overhaul," said Josh Silver, who organized the event.

"You need a complete overhaul of lobbying rules, you need to close the revolving door between public service and private industry and you need asset disclosure for members of the legislature so you know what they own and where they stand."

Silver said he set his sights on Michigan because it earned a failing grade on a 2012 corruption risk report card prepared by The Center For Public Integrity and Public Radio International.

The report acknowledged that Lansing is not known for scandal, but the author asserted that Michigan's campaign finance system "has more holes than I-94 after a spring thaw."

The activists, who chanted about campaign finance reform as they dropped money from the gallery, were escorted out without incident. Lawmakers appeared amused by the spectacle and many left their desks to pick up the fake cash.

"It's got the U.S. Capitol on it, c'mon," said state Rep. Pete Lund, R-Shelby Township, pointing to the back of one bill. "They don't even understand where they are."

Lund said he'd never seen anything similar happen during his years in the House and suggested that the activists had done their cause a disservice.

"It's arrogance thinking they're more important than anyone else," he said. "There's a process in place. If they're from Michigan, they get a vote. They can talk to their representative."

Jonathan Oosting is a Capitol reporter for MLive Media Group. Email him, find him on Google+ or follow him on Twitter.